Future of Fitness

Dave Appel, Chief Health & Wellness Officer at KORB Health and 35-year fitness industry veteran, joins Eric Malzone for a candid conversation on the collision of telehealth, GLP-1s, hormone replacement therapy, and the gym business model. Dave breaks down why the fitness industry can no longer afford to ignore the 80% of the population that doesn't identify as "fit," how GLP-1 medications like semaglutide are opening gym doors for people who never felt welcome in them, and what gym operators need to know right now before peptide deregulation reshapes the entire landscape. From KORB's partnerships with InShape Fitness and Fitness 19 to the future of pod-based, community-driven training environments, this episode is a masterclass in where preventative health and fitness are headed — and how smart operators can build a new revenue stream by getting ahead of it. What You'll Learn: 💊 Why GLP-1s like semaglutide and Ozempic aren't the enemy of fitness — they're the gateway drug to it 🏋️ How gym operators can add a zero-capital-expenditure revenue stream through telehealth partnerships 🌊 What the incoming peptide deregulation tsunami means for fitness businesses (and why ignoring it is dangerous) 🤝 How InShape Fitness and Fitness 19 are integrating GLP-1 programs into their member experience 🧠 The psychology behind why GLP-1 patients feel unwelcome in traditional gyms — and how to fix your messaging 📱 Why telehealth is the future of medicine and how KORB's care-first model keeps patients retained for 8–10 months 🏥 The difference between a "prescribe then educate" vs. "educate then prescribe" model — and why it matters 👥 Dave's vision for the gym of 2030: pod training, matchmaking-style community groups, and no more "pain caves" 💰 How the KORB rev share model works for fitness operators and why email open rates are surging with health content 🎯 Why personal trainers who niche into GLP-1 coaching have a massive untapped opportunity right now OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 eGym: https://egym.com/int

Jane Wang brings a rare cross-disciplinary lens to one of fitness's oldest problems: member retention. With a background in clinical research, mortality risk, and 12+ years in corporate wellness, Jane shares why the industry's approach to churn is fundamentally flawed — and what a data-driven, human-centered model looks like. What We Cover: Jane's background — From HIV research and ovarian cancer trials to building tech for 7M+ members at Opt Why retention is broken — The industry measures daily/weekly/monthly activity but ignores the full lifecycle of a member Life stages & churn — Having a baby, moving cities, changing jobs: why no text message can fix structural churn The "no" that means "not right now" — Treating lapsed members like a long-term sales relationship Life events in insurance vs. fitness — How life insurers market around milestones and why gyms should too Joyful nudges vs. aggressive ones — Why over-messaging kills retention and joy-driven UX wins The female fitness opportunity — Women are 60–90% of class-based gym users, but most products are built by and for men Cyclical health design — Why female biology demands a different measurement framework Candy Crush vs. Call of Duty — The massive underserved female market and what light gamification unlocks Social connectedness as a magic metric — Facebook's early retention lesson applied to gyms; women average 8–9 challenge buddies vs. men's 1–2 Fidgital — Physical + digital experiences that create lasting loyalty (Apple as the model) The data stack — Subscription data → usage/check-ins → wearables → zip codes → behavioral triangulation How Opt's challenges work — 1-day to 2-week gamified events that surface persona, personality, and device data with no tech lift for partners EGM Genius AI — A real-world fidgital example from the gym floor What Jane needs — Partners with 100K+ member footprints to help scale from 7M to 100M members OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 eGym: https://egym.com/int

Host Eric Malzone sits down with Marco Benitez, CEO and Co-founder of ROOK — and former TaeKwondo champion turned biomedical engineer — to get real about where the fitness and wellness industry stands in the age of AI and wearable data. Marco pulls from his background at Roche and Novartis to explain why clean, unified data is the foundation everything else is built on, and why most operators are sitting on gold they don't know how to mine. From pharma clinical trials using Oura rings to track narcolepsy patients, to longevity brands leveraging sleep data to drive upsells, to the looming reality of AI agents reshaping how we interact with health professionals — this conversation doesn't sugarcoat anything. Eric and Marco also dig into the "dead internet" theory, AI hallucinations, self-driving cars, and why soft skills might be the most valuable thing you can develop right now. If you're in fitness, healthcare, or anywhere near the wellness space and you're not thinking seriously about your data strategy, this episode is your wake-up call. Key Takeaways: 📊 Data is the gold — but most operators don't have the pickaxe. Having wearable data means nothing if it's not clean, normalized, and structured for actual decision-making. 🔗 Unified wearable data is the missing link. ROOK harmonizes data from 300+ devices so fitness, healthcare, and insurance companies can finally make sense of it all in one place. 💤 Sleep and stress data are the highest-value metrics in health right now — and smart brands are already using them to drive engagement, behavior change, and upsells. 🏋️ The real retention problem is habit formation. AI and data can help fitness clubs understand their members better, but the deeper challenge is turning inconsistent behavior into lasting habits. 🩺 The fitness-to-healthcare bridge is being built right now. Wearable data is increasingly showing up in real-world evidence trials, remote patient monitoring, and chronic disease management programs. 🩸 CGMs, glucose, and blood pressure are the next frontier. Non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring is coming, and it could change how the entire industry approaches metabolic health. 🤖 AI is impartial — and that might be exactly what healthcare needs. The healthcare system is fragmented by competing interests; AI could cut through the noise to support better, unbiased clinical decisions. 🧠 AI psychologists and agents are already here. Tools like Grok are offering therapeutic-style conversations — raising big questions about who (or what) will win the mental health tech space. 🌐 The "dead internet" theory is closer than you think. When AI is creating content for AI to consume, human connection online starts to erode — and the fitness industry isn't immune. 🥋 Soft skills are the new superpower. As AI handles more technical execution, the ability to communicate, lead, and think creatively becomes your biggest competitive edge. OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 eGym: https://egym.com/int

In this episode of Future of Fitness, host Eric Malzone sits down with Dr. Anna Emmanuel—a double board-certified physician in family and integrative medicine—to unpack the evolution of modern healthcare, from reactive "sick care" to proactive, data-driven longevity medicine. Dr. Emmanuel introduces the Next Health framework of Medicine 4.0, a model that blends lifestyle, prevention, functional medicine, and advanced therapies like peptides, GLP-1s, and stem cells. She reveals why 80% of health outcomes are within our control, how to use GLP-1s responsibly without muscle loss, and why gut health and grip strength are underrated longevity markers. If you're ready to stop DIY-ing your health with TikTok and ChatGPT and start becoming the CEO of your own biology, this conversation is your playbook. Key Takeaways 🧬 Medicine 4.0 explained – It's not just prevention (3.0). It adds functional medicine + advanced longevity tools like peptides, exosomes, and ozone therapy. 🧠 You are the CEO of your health – Genetics only account for 15–25% of outcomes; daily choices drive the rest. 💉 GLP-1s done right – Microdosing and slow titration prevent muscle loss, fatigue, and nutrient deficiencies. Sustainable weight loss = 1–2 lbs/week. 🔬 Peptides are powerful but risky – BPC-157, Tesamorelin, and growth hormone analogs work wonders—but only if sourced safely and used individually. 🦠 Gut health is immune health – 70% of your immune system lives in the gut. Microbiome testing + AI are game-changers for bloating, fatigue, and nutrient absorption. 💪 Grip strength = longevity signal – It's not just about big muscles. Grip strength correlates with fall prevention, upper body function, and overall vitality. 🧘 Fitness balance matters – Don't ditch cardio for just weights. VO2 max, mobility, and strength all predict long-term health. 📈 Healthspan is the new lifespan – Dr. Emmanuel predicts today's 20-somethings could live robustly past 100, with 70s and 80s looking radically different. OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 eGym: https://egym.com/int

After 30+ years of bootstrapping Alloy Franchise to over 135 locations, founder Rick Mayo finally decided to bring in a private equity partner—but not for the reasons you might think. In this candid conversation with Eric Malzone, Rick opens up about why he chose Capital Spring, how he avoided the "gunslinging" PE horror stories, and why pulling some chips off the table actually gave him more clarity, not less. He breaks down the deceptively simple model behind Alloy's 91% retention rate, explains why saying "no" to flashy trends (GLP-1s, saunas, meal delivery) has been the secret to scaling, and reveals how he thinks about integrating adjacent services without muddying the core business. If you're a franchise operator, founder considering outside capital, or just someone who wants to know what actually works after three decades in the trenches, this one's for you. Key Takeaways: 🏋️ The Simple Model Wins – One coach, six clients, 130–150 members per location. 91% retention. Average unit volume ~$387k. Complexity is the enemy of scale. 🤝 Why Partner With PE After 30 Years? – Not because they had to. Because they wanted resources, strategic finance, and a partner who'd already scaled 100+ brands—without losing control. 🧠 Founder-Friendly PE Exists – Capital Spring is slow, steady, and voted most founder-friendly. They don't want your job. They want to help you keep it. 🚫 The Power of Saying No – No GLP-1 integration. No saunas. No meal delivery. Yet. Rick explains why chasing every "squirrel" dilutes a simple, working model. 🚲 The Bicycle Wheel Strategy – Alloy is the hub (trusted strength training). Everything else—blood work, peptides, recovery—are spokes. Let the hub stay strong; integrate spokes centrally, not at each gym. 🧩 Franchisees Don't Need More Complexity – Most franchisees are learning to run their first business. Adding supplements, meal plans, and hormone therapy to their plate fails. Better to run those plays centrally and rev-share. 🎯 The 800-Goal Isn't Arbitrary – 800 awarded = ~500 open. That's 100 new licenses/year. Runway is 1,500–2,000 total. They're pacing exactly where they want to be. 👴 The Avatar Sells Itself – Most franchise buyers are 40–60 years old... the same age as Alloy's ideal client. They "get" the model because they wish it existed in their own town. ❤️ Rick's Favorite Phase? The Single Gym – Before scaling, before franchising, just training clients, cracking jokes, and going home. "It didn't even feel like a job." 🔍 What He Needs Now – Adjacent partners for the "spokes" (recovery, HRV, concierge blood work, peptides). Reach out via alloyfranchise.com. OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 eGym: https://egym.com/int